The Palmerense residents, who finished second in the previous editions, are trying for redemption in the search for eternal glory

Andreas Pereira is the main character not only in the trio, but also in the resolution. The former Flamengo player will reunite with the team to whom he swore several promises of love at the same stage in which he went from fame to villain. In the 2021 final, when he was on loan from Manchester United and one of the Red and Black’s best players, Andreas made an impact when he rejected an attempted pass at the defense and set up Palmeiras for the title-winning goal scored by Deverson.

If it were not for this fateful move, it is not ridiculous to say that Andreas might soon be on the pitch in red and black, and not in green and white.

The mistake made the midfielder the main target of criticism from a large portion of Flamengo fans. Andreas has already reported, for example, that he had to travel in an armored car due to feeling unsafe. In the midst of all this, the deal to buy Flamengo from United, which was at a price of 10 million euros (about 57 million Brazilian reals at the time), was canceled with the justification for the Central Bank’s seizure of 130 million Brazilian reals to which the club was subjected.

There are still many flirtations between Flamengo and Andreas Pereira: the club even sought information about the midfielder from Fulham, his most recent club in England; Andreas, in turn, called on a few occasions to return to the red and black team, with promises of love and saying that he would “bring Libertadores back” to his favorite team. But as fate would have it, the Brazilian’s path was the club that made him a villain – also for €10 million (R$63 million). Who knows, maybe now he’s a hero.

-What happened in the past is past. These are normal things, and provoking fans is normal. I’m a professional and I don’t see this. I’m focused on being here and adapting as quickly as possible. “I don’t care much about these things,” Andreas said, during his presentation at Palmeiras in September. “I want to show football to the fans by scoring goals, providing assists and getting wins, which is the most important thing.”

Since then, there have been 18 matches, during which he scored two goals and one assist.

Andreas’ good performance on the pitch is important for Palmeiras, but especially for Vitor Roque. In a bad phase, like the offensive sector of the team as a whole, Tigrinho will compete in his second Libertadores final. In the first match, in 2022, they lost to Flamengo at the Estadio Atlético PR.

In 65 minutes on the pitch in that decision, Roque, then just 17 years old, produced a lackluster performance. There were only three successful passes in five attempts, eight losses of possession, one foul and one shot. Now, at 20 years of age and with the most expensive signing in Palmeiras’ history – who paid €25.5 million (R$152 million) for Barcelona – he is more mature and reliable as the main hope of scoring a goal for Abel Ferreira’s side. There have been 20 assists so far this season, plus five assists, in 54 games.

In the defensive sector, Bruno Fuchs, who has become a kind of wildcard in Appel’s tactical schemes, is one of the pleasant positive surprises of Palmeiras’ season. On loan from Atletico MG until December, the €3.5 million (R$21.7 million) purchase option must be exercised.

At Minas Gerais, Fox did not shine much. So much so that even with the three-man tactic that Gallo adopted in last year’s Libertadores final, it was not even used in the 3-1 defeat to Botafogo. At Palmeiras, he delighted Abel Ferreira’s artistic committee with his versatility.